Second Chance

' Chapter 11 '

Freddy slept peacefully in rest mode. He had already woken Gregory up to start his day around the Pizza Plex before security came in.

Bonnie was still in rest mode so the bear decided to sleep in a bit longer to lean on him. He jolted from his light sleep as the bunny stirred.

Bonnie stared at nothing for a minute before wincing and turning to Freddy. He gave a weak smile as he gently stroked the back of the bear's head.

" 'm-m-morning, s-sil-silly-bear..." He stuttered. Freddy chuckled and nuzzled his cheek affectionately.

"Good morning, starshine." He smiled. Their peacful morning was soon interrupted, however, as a very sleep deprived Vanessa stepped in the room again, this time with backup. Freddy stood protectively in front of the bunny again.

"Step aside, Freddy. He can't be in here during work hours, we need to bring him to repairs." She ordered.

Freddy held his ground.

"Freddy, they're just gonna' repair him, he'll be back before you know it!" She tried again. The bear still did not budge. He responded by growling and tensing up in front of the trembling bunny. Vanessa sighed.

"We tried doing this the easy way." She warned, gesturing to one of the maintenance workers behind her.

"We'll need to administer another of his controlled shocks." She said. Before the bear could react the worker pulled out a remote and pressed a button. In turn the bear cried out and convulsed in his stance. By the time the shock was down Freddy had collapsed weakly, continuing to twitch and spas erratically.

"F-Freddy-!" Bonnie cried out in shock and worry. The bear tried to force himself up to help him but was given another quick shock that sent him down again. He felt powerless.

"No! Don't take him!" The bear cried out, losing his formal speech in panic. The noise attracted the attention of the other animatronics as Roxanne and Chica rushed into the room, Monty following close behind.

"All of you relax! The shocks do not hurt him, he's used to it." Vanessa stated. The others stopped in their tracks to avoid more confrontation, but shared the same angered and hateful glances to the security gaurd. While they did, Bonnie was already picked up by three workers and was being taken away.

"He'll be back soon. For now, all of you get ready for work!" Vanessa ordered before leaving in the back with the others. When she was out of sight, Roxanne rushed towards the door and growled in utter rage as Chica and Monty quickly helped Freddy stand up again. The bear appeared distraught and hurt.

"Th-I couldn't save him-! They're going to take him away!" Freddy cried. Chica quickly offered a tight hug and reassurances while Monty stood at a loss for what to do. Of course he wished he could help the bear, but he was not very good with emotional situations like this. Roxanne snarled and punched the nearest wall in frustration.

"ONE OF THESE DAYS, I'M GONNA' SKIN THAT VANESSA ALIVE!" She yelled out in rage.

None of the others bothered trying to calm her down, each of them could somewhat agree with her.

~~

Foxy sighed as he cleaned up his cove a bit before kids could come in. The fox was content. His family was back together, and as safe as they could be at least. He still wondered exactly who the woman Bonnie was so afraid of was. Was it Vanessa? She seemed kind of harsh, but the fox hadn't suspected her of any real harm. Foxy stopped in his thoughts as he heard animatronic footsteps enter his cove.

He turned and sighed in annoyance as the animatronic in question was the gator.

"What do ye' want now, lad?" Foxy sighed. Monty rubbed the back of his neck.

"I heard you...found Bonnie?" He asked. Foxy nodded.

"What about it?" He asked. Montgomery sighed.

"Vanessa managed to take Bonnie and bring 'im to repairs. They gave Freddy a controlled shock to take him." He said.

The fox winced, remembering those shocks all too well. Besides the leader, the fox had felt those the second most times. He could feel worry spike in his fur at the thought of management taking his friend to repairs. He turned as the gator adjusted his sunglasses awkwardly, his face contorting. Foxy stared.

"Why are ye' cryin', gator?" He asked. Monty was caught off guard at how observant the fox was, he was usually very good at hiding.

"I-look, it's nothin'." The gator claimed. Foxy scoffed.

"It clearly is somethin'. Ye' can't go about in front of the kiddies with that attitude." He warned. Montgomery finally sighed, relenting. Maybe he was just being a 'weak loser' again, but...something told him he could trust the fox.

"Well...as soon as Bonnie is repaired they...I'm gonna' be out of the band." He sighed, lazily sitting on one of the foam seats in the center of the cove. The fox approached slowly.

"I'm gonna' be scraped or demoted back to the golf course...but maybe I just deserve that.' He laughed bitterly. The fox took a seat right by him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Ye' don't deserve it, lad. Nobody does." He said. The gator shook his head.

"No, I do! I'm the reason he was decomissioned in the first place!" He argued. The fox shook his head.

"That was...in the past, Montgomery. It was a mistake and ye' learned from it. Keepin' draggin' it along isn't gonna' get ye' nowhere." He reassured. The gator glanced him, searching his eyes for sincerity. The fox continued.

"Besides, they don't just go replacin' animatronics on a dime, they're not just gonna' drop ye' now that there's another animatronic. If anything, he may just be an addition to the band." The fox shrugged. When the gator still appeared downtrodden the fox sighed.

"What de' you have against being a secondary cast member?" He asked. Montgomery opened his mouth to answer but quickly shut it again. He chose his next words wisely.

"Before I was put in the band...I was one of the secondary cast members...I never felt good enough to be here. Just seein' Bonnie, Freddy, and the others on stage...it made me feel even worse..." He stared at the ground. The fox sighed.

"Look...I know how ye' feel, lad. In the beginning I didn't like me' role either." He said. The gator turned and stared in surprise. The fox continued.

"I never felt as good or as valuable as the rest of the band...kiddies would cheer and rave for them whenever they were seen...but," Foxy continued.

"I built the best connection to the guests. The kiddies felt safe and at-home around me...I ended up bein' so well-liked, and look at me? I'm a secondary that kept comin' back for years with the others, much longer than Sun or ye'." He laughed. Monty chuckled in response.

"Whether yer' on stage with the band, or yer' a helpless S.T.A.F.F bot, it's not about how many loud fans ye' have, it's about the impact you leave on the kiddies." He finished. After considering what the fox said, the gator finally nodded in understanding. Foxy smiled and slapped his back reassuringly.

"Now go on, the park is about to open." He said. Monty nodded and got up. Before he left however, he turned back to the fox.

"Hey...uh...yer' kinda' good with the kids...do ya' think you can give me some pointers-?" The gator asked. Foxy rolled his eyes but smiled.

"Ye' can come around here for anythin' ya' need lad. I'd be an awful fox to turn down helpin' someone." He said. The gator smiled back.

"Thanks, captain." He said. Foxy chuckled but nodded back to him as he left.